Virtual reality receives new categories as it takes center stage at this years awards for creative work in film, TV & VR.

The Advanced Imaging Society and The VR Society have returned yet again for their annual honoring of this years biggest influencers in categories including creative filmmaking, television and virtual reality. For their 8th ceremony however the organizers of the non-profit group are shaking things up by generously expanding their categories for achievements in virtual reality. Taking place February 13th a Warner Bros. Studios in Hollywood, California, The 8th annual Lumiere Awards will honour an impressive amount of influencers in the arts and technologies of 3D, HDR, VR, AR and 360-degree content.

For his work directing Disney’s The Jungle Book movie and creating the incredibly popular Gnomes & Goblins VR experience alongside Wevr and Reality One, director, writer and producer Jon Favreau will receive the society’s 2017 Harold Lloyd Award for Filmmaking. Best known for his directorial work on Elf, Marvel’s Iron Man and Iron Man 2, Favreau joins an esteemed group of previous honorees including Martin Scorsese, Ang Lee, Jean-Pierre Juenet and Victoria Alonso.

Chairwoman/CEO of HTC Corp and creator of the HTC Vive, Cher Wang, will be honoured with the Sir Charles Wheatstone Award. Society Awards Chair Buzz Hays spoke about the decision stating, “With the HTC VIVE, Cher Wang and her team have created a groundbreaking room-scale VR platform that has enabled the production of a dazzling number of immersive VR experiences which have pushed the boundaries of entertainment. The result has surprised and delighted the industry and consumers.”

In an unexpected turn of events, the society’s incredibly rare Century Award will be given to the massively successful Google Earth VR application. Society President Jim Chabin expressed his love for the project: “The Google VR Experience empowers every citizen of the world to explore and learn about our world with VR. This achievement will enrich countless lives and expand our understanding of our planet in the coming years, and we are thrilled to honor Google’s virtual reality team.”

The coveted award is given out by the organization very sparingly and is reserved only for individuals or groups that the society agrees have “created a milestone” technology or content. James Cameron is a previous winner for the film Avatar, just to put things in perspective.

There are still a whole slew of new awards that will be announced during the AMD sponsored event, all recognizing creative achievements using advanced imaging technologies including 3D, HDR and VR, new advancements in storytelling for 3D/HDR live action and animated movies, and much more. Some of these highly-sought after honors include:

Best VR Experience

Best VR Animation & CGI

Best VR Film

Best VR Documentary

Best VR Journalism

Best VR Sports

Best VR Music Best VR Advertising/Branded Content

Best VR Gaming

Best Episodic 360-degree Content

Best 360-degree Live Action Content

A full list of announced nominees can be found right here. The organization is also introducing a new VIP media preview of all nominated VR content 10AM-12PM on February 13 at the Steven J. Ross Theater at Warner Bros. Studios.